“Our main objective is to provide the best care for patients”
Al-Ahli Hospital is at the forefront of medical care in the private health sector in Qatar; its main objective is to continue to provide the best care for patients aligned with the National Health Strategy. “Hospitals” magazine met with Mr. Khalid Al-Emadi, CEO at Al-Ahli Hospital in an exclusive interview to shed light on the hospital’s improvements as well as its efforts to stay at the forefront of changing medical care.
The growth of investment in new healthcare facilities, services and technologies has transformed the health infrastructure in the country. What sets you apart from other medical institutions?
The basis of institutional success is teamwork, continuous perseverance and good strategic planning. Al-Ahli Hospital’s management team has always worked with these principles in mind and has continued to invest in the team and infrastructure to place the hospital and the services we provide at the forefront of medical care in the private health sector.
It has not been easy as we faced many challenges in terms of logistics human resources and capabilities It has not been easy as we faced many challenges in terms of logistics human resources and capabilities but everything is possible with good strategic planning.
Al-Ahli Hospital has a significant number of international doctors and consultants. How does this facilitate the flow of skills and knowledge into the country?
We, as a hospital, realized very early that the mixed skills of international and local doctors improve knowledge and thus services offered to our patients. Al-Ahli Hospital has always strived to attract world-class doctors and consultants with good work etiquette. In doing so, we have also listened to the international doctors and introduced the latest technology to constantly improve our services and keep abreast of modern health trends.
We developed and introduced an integrated electronic medical system for recording patients’ medical data, requesting investigations and other services and this has proved very efficient in providing a seamless service.
What has been Al-Ahli Hospital’s strategy to battle COVID-19 pandemic?
Al-Ahli Hospital has successfully overcome one of the most difficult challenges, which include the obstacles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic since the first case was recorded in 2020. This global pandemic imposed a new reality on business management and we have embraced an unusual lifestyle pattern.
Therefore, since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in the State of Qatar – we developed a precise institutional strategy to address this virus. The Hospital management was keen to take all the necessary preventive measures with a planned strategy at all stages of the pandemic in order to ensure a safe environment for its employees and patients. A Covid-19 committee was formed at the onset of the virus and this comprised eleven staff and doctors working to direct the required measures.
Entrance to the hospital was restricted to two places only where the medical staff were assigned to conduct daily checks on all the people entering the hospital premises. When infection was suspected, the individual was referred immediately to an isolation room (dedicated to Covid) in the emergency room where the necessary and appropriate tests and medical care were undertaken. The emergency room and sections of the hospital wards were restructured to care for Covid-related cases. These inpatients room were modified and fitted with negative pressure systems. In addition to reducing cross-infection, we introduced infrared controls to all hospital elevators to avoid pressing any control buttons.
What are the Hospital’s main objectives looking ahead, and how are they aligned with the National Health Strategy?
The main objective of Al-Ahli Hospital going forward is to keep providing the best care for our patients in line with the National Health Strategy. As a hospital, we have allocated a significant amount of our budget to improve and expand our premises and car parking facilities.
We are also working towards increasing our staff to cater to the various disciplines of medicine and surgery. Therefore, we have to remain at the forefront of changing medical care.
